March, 2009

Uncategorized

>UFCW Members Speak Out for Employee Free Choice

Mar 10, 2009

>Dozens of UFCW members from UFCW Locals 1994, 27, and 400 were at the Capitol today as theEmployee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House and Senate. Members traveled toWashington to appear at a Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing entitled Rebuilding Economic Security: Empowering Workers to Restore the Middle Class.

After the hearing, Senator Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Miller (D-CA) introduced the bill in each chamber of Congress. UFCW members and members from other unions were there to show their support for Employee Free Choice as one important way to restore prosperityfor American workers in the economic downturn.

“I want Employee Free Choice to pass so that other workers can enjoy the benefits that I have,” said Jim Sanders, a Local 27 member at Shoppers Food Warehouse. “Even though the economy is bad right now, my wife and I are doing okay because we are both union members.”

“UFCW members and working families across the nation are standing firmly in support of thislegislation,” said UFCW International President Joe Hansen. “We will not let corporate America drown out reasonable debate on this issue with lies and exaggerations about the process by which workers can choose a union.”

In the coming weeks, UFCW members from all over the country will be traveling to Washington,D.C. to speak to their members of Congress and urge them to support Employee Free Choice.

Organizing, Press Releases, Retail, Social Justice, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart

UFCW Statement on the Introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act

Mar 10, 2009

(Washington, D.C.) – It is time for leadership.  With a faltering economy and millions of hardworking families struggling to make ends meet, only strong leadership can end thirty years of wage stagnation and renew the American Dream for America’s workers.  The Employee Free Choice Act would kick start the engine of America’s middle class.

The introduction of the Free Choice legislation today gives Congress the opportunity to show American workers that they are willing to stand up for real change for working families and shape a brighter future for our children and our grandchildren.

1.3 million UFCW members and their families are counting on their Senators and Congresspersons to show leadership and support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Without the Employee Free Choice Act, workers will continue to fight a one-sided, losing battle to exercise their legal rights at work.  The recent stimulus package was a necessary first step in the right direction.  But if our country is to have a sound and sustainable economy, we must fully renew the opportunity for workers to achieve the American Dream.  Union membership is the engine of a middle-class economy.

UFCW members and working families across the nation are standing firmly in support of this legislation.  We will not let corporate America drown out reasonable debate on this issue with lies and exaggerations about the process by which workers can choose a union.

We will not let Congress forget why corporate America is spending millions of dollars on ads and lobbyists.   Companies like Wal-Mart are profiting from our economic downturn while thousands of Wal-Mart workers try to stay afloat with part-time incomes, unaffordable health care and questionable job security.   Severe income inequality is destroying the American Dream and today we stand united to say it’s time to level the playing field for American workers.

UFCW members will continue to make our voices heard so that every worker can freely choose to join a union to improve their lives, without intimidation, harassment or fear.

Barack Obama, Economic Justice, Health Care, Politics, Press Releases, UFCW Values

UFCW Calls for Immediate Health Care Reform

Mar 06, 2009

Yesterday, the President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Joe Hansen, attended the White House Forum on Health Reform hosted by President Barack Obama. Today, he reiterated the union’s strong commitment to the movement to bring quality, affordable health care to every American:

Every UFCW member has been touched by the health care crisis. They see the devastating effects of our nation’s failure to act on this issue every day in their communities, in their families, and in their workplaces.

I was pleased to be invited to the White House Forum on Health Reform. I was excited to see President Barack Obama take on the mantle of leadership on this critical issue. I was inspired by the broad spectrum of leaders calling for immediate action.

We will do whatever it takes to see quality, affordable health care extended to everyone in this country.  UFCW members demand it and our country needs it now more than ever.  A real solution to America’s healthcare problem is the single best way to put America’s economy back on track.  Reform must be based on shared responsibility, and that includes fair funding for a public health insurance option so that we have real choices in our system.

So we take this moment to urge each and every person to join us in this fight. Visit www.healthcareforamericanow.org today to read our principles, tell your Congressperson or Senator of our national need for urgent health care reform, and to take action in your community.